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LDL Cholesterol Not the Only Culprit in Heart Disease

Risk also increases with elevated non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides

Friday, January 1, 2010 by: HealthDay

(HealthDay News) -- Though low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is usually the primary target of lipid-lowering therapies, high levels of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triglycerides, and a high total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio also carry an elevated risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a study in the Dec. 29/Jan. 5 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Benoit J. Arsenault, Ph.D., of the Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, and colleagues analyzed baseline lifestyle data and serum lipid profiles of 21,448 subjects from the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition study who did not have diabetes or CHD. The group was followed for an average of 11 years.

In follow-up, the researchers found that subjects with low LDL-C levels (less than 100 mg/dL) had increased risk for developing CHD when other lipids were elevated: for levels of HDL-C greater than 130 mg/dL, hazard ratio, 1.84; for triglyceride levels greater than 150 mg/dL, 1.63; and for a total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio greater than 5, 2.19.

"In this prospective study, independently of their plasma LDL-C levels, participants with high non-HDL-C levels, high triglyceride levels, or with an elevated total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio were at increased CHD risk. CHD risk assessment algorithms as well as lipid targets of lipid-lowering trials may also need to consider other easily available parameters such as non-HDL-C," the authors conclude.

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Menopause Often Means Worsening Cholesterol

Monday, December 14, 2009 by: Ed Edelson, HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- Blood levels of LDL cholesterol, the bad kind that blocks arteries, go up sharply in women at the time of menopause, but there are no other dramatic changes in risk factors for heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular problems, a new study has found.

"This suggests that as women approach menopause, they need to have their lipid profiles checked," said Karen A. Matthews, a professor of psychiatry, epidemiology and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and the study's lead author. A report on the findings is published in the Dec. 15/22 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which is focused on prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Two other studies reported in the same issue showed that higher doses of statins, drugs that lower LDL cholesterol levels, are more effective over the long run than lower doses in preventing heart attacks, other cardiovascular problems and premature death.

The menopause report is the latest from a study that has followed more than 3,000 American women since 1996, "trying to understand the changes women experience during life," Matthews said. One major change is menopause, when menstruation stops as production of estrogen is reduced.

It has been known that women's risk for cardiovascular problems increases after menopause. "Our study has been checking many different things in relation to menopause and cardiovascular risk," Matthews said. "The primary result is an increase in total cholesterol, due to an increase in LDL cholesterol as well as in apolipoprotein B, the protein carrier for LDL cholesterol."

Those changes occur regardless of ethnic background and "appear to be a fairly uniform response to menopause," she said.

"Other risk factors we measured didn't show a dramatic change," Matthews said. "I expected to see some change in inflammatory factors because some data suggest that hormone users have higher cholesterol levels, but it did not occur."

The lesson she draws from the finding is that women should pay more attention to lifestyle factors associated with cardiovascular risk as menopause approaches and occurs. "They should lose weight and keep it off and increase their physical activity," Matthews said. "Smokers should stop smoking."

The study will continue to chart the changes that occur after menopause, she said, looking at such problems as "what happens if you have a lot of hot flashes."

The two statin studies, sponsored by Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, which market versions of the cholesterol-lowering drugs, looked at the effects of different dosages, comparing 80 milligrams a day with 40 milligrams daily in nearly 14,000 patients who had experienced one heart attack or other cardiovascular event.

It's been customary to give a higher statin dose after such an event, and the question has been whether to switch back to the lower dose after a while, said Dr. Christopher P. Cannon, a cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a member of the team that performed one of the studies.

"The short answer is that the use of strong statins is helpful in preventing not just a first heart attack or death but could prevent more problems than just one," Cannon said.

That answer emerged because the researchers changed the way they had been counting. In previous studies, they stopped assessing the effect of higher-dose statin use after a single second event. In the two new studies, they kept monitoring the effects after a second event.

"The benefits are even bigger than we thought," Cannon said. "Fifty percent more events were prevented than we have been counting to date because we were just counting the first event."

Other studies in the same issue of the journal reported that:

• People who stopped smoking after a first heart attack had half the risk of dying prematurely than did those who continued to smoke.
• High blood pressure and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, develop before puberty in obese children, and increased physical activity decreases them.
• Modest weight loss in obese adults, an average of 22 pounds, improves heart muscle and blood vessel structure and function.

The American Heart Association has more on good and bad cholesterol.

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High Levels of Cholesterol Contribute to Heart Failure

Monday, November 30, 2009 by: Madeline Ellis , Health News

(Health News)- Stop for a moment, especially if you’re about to take a big bite of chocolate cake, and think about what happens to your kitchen drain pipes when you pour meat grease or chicken fat down the sink. Over time, this sludge builds up in the pipes, causing them to drain slower or blocking them completely. The same thing can happen to our blood vessels when they are exposed to high levels of cholesterol. LDL slowly builds up in artery walls, causing a thick plaque that can narrow arteries, restrict blood flow, and lead to blood clots. A blocked blood vessel in the brain can trigger a stroke. If the coronary arteries of the heart become blocked, a heart attack occurs. Heart attack is a major risk factor for heart failure, a condition in which damaged or weakened heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. But a new study shows that high levels of cholesterol may significantly raise the risk of heart failure, even for people who never have a heart attack.

Heart failure is a very common condition, affecting about 5 million Americans. Each year in the United States, it results in about 300,000 deaths and is responsible for more hospitalizations than all forms of cancer combined. The most common causes of heart failure are coronary artery disease (CAD), high blood pressure, and diabetes. Treating these underlying problems can prevent or improve heart failure. For instance, drugs called ACE inhibitors lower blood pressure and reduce strain on the heart and beta blockers slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure to decrease the heart’s workload. In trials, cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins were also shown to reduce the incidence of heart failure, but it has been unclear whether the reduction was due to abnormal lipids or a benefit of the reduction in heart attacks.

To investigate the relationship between lipid levels and heart failure, researchers at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute analyzed data on 6,860 participants in the Framingham Heart Study, none of whom had heart disease when they were enrolled. The group had an average age of 44 at the beginning of the study, and 54 percent were women. After an average 26 years of follow-up, 680 had developed heart failure. The incidence of heart failure was:

• 12.8 percent in those with low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good” cholesterol, but only 6.1 percent in those with desirable HDL levels.
• 13.8 percent in those with high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad” cholesterol, compared to 7.9 percent in those with desirable levels of LDL.

After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and other factors, the risk of heart failure was 29 percent greater in those with high LDL cholesterol compared with those who had desirable lower levels, but 40 percent less in those with high levels of desirable HDL compared with those who had lower levels. The risk of heart attack was 13 percent higher in participants with high LDL cholesterol and 25 percent lower in those with high HDL cholesterol.

"This study goes a step further in implicating cholesterol levels in heart failure and suggests that cholesterol-altering therapy may have long-term benefits in preventing heart failure above and beyond its effects on preventing (heart attack)," said Dr. Daniel Levy, senior author of the study and director of the Framingham Heart Study. "For example, if lipids infiltrate the heart, like they do the liver, this might be one reason that people with diabetes are predisposed to heart failure."

Levy said that because the study was not a randomized clinical trial, it should not be used to alter how physicians prescribe cholesterol-lowering drugs. He added, however, that it might be possible to reanalyze data from previous clinical trials of statins, eliminate people who had heart attacks and determine whether heart failure was lower in other people taking the drugs.

Over 100 million Americans have cholesterol levels that exceed the recommended total and 20 percent of Americans have levels that are considered high. Besides medications, the best ways to improve cholesterol levels include physical activity, smoking cessation, modest alcohol consumption, and eating a diet high in monounsaturated fats such as olive oil.

The study is published in the November 23 online edition of the journal Circulation.

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Low Cholesterol May Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by: Kellye Lynn , WJZ.com

(WJZ)-Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels can reduce your chances of having a heart attack or stroke.

But as Healthwatch reporter Kellye Lynn reports, there could be an additional benefit for men.

Research out of Johns Hopkins indicates lowering your cholesterol could help lower your risk for a certain form of prostate cancer.

John Blakely's blood pressure is good, but his cholesterol is another story.

"I need to pay attention to my triglycerides, a subset within that cholesterol issue," said Blakely.

Bringing his cholesterol under control could help John stave off a deadly form of prostate cancer.

"Men who had low cholesterol had a lower risk of high-grade disease," said Dr. Elizabeth Platz, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Dr. Platz conducted a study analyzing about 5,600 middle-aged men. After seven years, about 1,200 of them developed prostate cancer.

"And what we found was men who had cholesterol below 200 milligrams per decileter, which is the normal range, were less likely to develop high-grade disease," she said.

She explains men in the study with low cholesterol were 60% less likely to develop high-grade disease.

"We think that lower cholesterol may inhibit the signaling that allows prostate cancer cells that have the worst prognosis," Dr. Platz said. "It prevents them from surviving."

This latest research follows other studies at Hopkins that have connected low cholesterol to protection against prostate cancer.

More studies are planned. Dr. Platz said the next step is to find out how good cholesterol affects prostate cancer risk.

You can also keep your cholesterol in the healthy range by losing weight, cutting the saturated and trans fat in your diet, reducing your alcohol intake and getting active with at least a half hour of moderate intensity physical activity five days a week.

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Take Steps Toward Better Heart Health

Saturday, October 23, 2009 by: NAPSI , napsnet.com

(NAPSI)-You can help beat heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women, by taking small steps toward better heart health. Go Red for Women, a national movement created by the American Heart Association, educates women on ways to improve their heart health and live stronger, longer lives.

Take Action Against Heart Disease

Nearly half a million women die from cardiovascular diseases in the U.S. each year, but heart disease is largely preventable. By taking just a few small steps, you can receive big rewards:

Know Your Cholesterol Levels

Many women don't realize that high cholesterol is a major controllable risk factor for heart disease; knowing your cholesterol levels is an important first step toward taking charge of your heart health.

Other important numbers to keep track of are blood pressure and body mass index, used to estimate if a person is overweight according to their height.

Make Simple Life Changes

Making small and simple lifestyle changes such as managing stress, becoming physically active and eating well can reduce your risk of heart disease. Right choices can reduce your risk of heart disease:

• Choose to move, not sit.
• Choose to eat baked, not fried.
• Choose to breathe, not smoke.

Have Annual Checkups With Your Doctor

An annual checkup with a primary care physician is an important part of being heart healthy. "Consider your doctor a partner in managing your health," says Dr. Allen Goldberg, executive director of scientific affairs at Merck & Co., Inc. "Patients should see their doctor on an annual basis in order to catch heart disease early."

Prior to seeing your doctor, visit www.GoRedForWomen.org and take the Go Red Heart Check-Up. Bring the results to your doctor as topics to help evaluate your overall heart health.

For more information about Go Red For Women, visit www.GoRedForWomen.org Merck & Co., a leader in cardiovascular disease research, is a proud national sponsor of Go Red for Women.

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50-Pound Weight Loss Just a Click Away

Saturday, October 3, 2009 by: Jessica Greene , nbc bay area news

Picture yourself 10, 20, 30 or even 50 pounds lighter. It might be hard to imagine and standing in front of a funhouse mirror or looking at pictures of a slimmer you from years ago just doesn't cut it.

Now there's a way to see yourself with less weight in minutes, thanks to a Web site that instantly drops pounds from your uploaded image.

Weight Mirror is motivation for people struggling to drop some excess weight. The only exercise you have to do is a simple rep of point, click and drag.

You can even add pounds to yourself in an instant, perhaps motivation stay slim and it's kind of fun to see what you might look like with enhanced (or reduced) body parts.

A box pops up when you upload your picture, reminding you that the virtual pound-shedding is no substitute for a workout.

"This interactive visualization tool is for illustrative purposes only. It does not take the place of a consultation with a qualified physician, and does not necessarily provide you with a photo realistic after picture. The visualization results of this tool may differ significantly from an actual operation or procedure."

So there goes the idea of fooling your Facebook friends into believing you haven't become a blob since you parted ways after high school.
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Weight Loss Easier After Breakfast

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 by: Elizabeth Renter, everyday christian

Some people can’t stomach the idea of eating breakfast in the morning. I have never had this problem. Shoot, eating at any time of day has always been a cinch for me! However, not everyone is so lucky, if you want to call it luck. Studies show eating breakfast can aid your weight loss attempts and also improve brain function. So, what’s holding you back?

Breakfast is named such because your morning meal breaks the fast that you have imposed overnight. When we fast, our bodies slow down. Our metabolism slows just in case we are entering a period where food may not come for sometime. This slowed metabolism needs to be sparked back to life each morning, like stoking a fire that has lain dormant for some hours. When you fail to spark that fire in the morning, you can actually be encouraging fat storage rather than loss.

This short piece from the Mayo Clinic gives a few good reasons for eating your Cheerios, so to speak. One interesting point here is that skipping the morning meal can actually promote obesity. Many people think that skipping meals is akin to diet success. If you can restrict yourself that much then your body will certainly reward you, right? Wrong. Your body needs fuel and when it senses starvation it will hold onto that energy giving fat for dear life.

Harvard Publications goes so far as to say that skipping breakfast can increase your chances of obesity up to four times. That is huge. If you have any sort of fitness goals or weight loss to attain and you are forgoing the meal, you really need to rethink your resistance to it.

As if the weight maintenance benefits aren’t enough, breakfast increases brain power. We have heard this in reference to school children for years and the same line of thinking applies to adults. Food fuels the body and the brain. Coffee may keep you quick on your toes, but it doesn’t give your brain the same benefits as some real calories, dense in nutritional value.

So, how can breakfast resistance be overcome? Well, if you don’t eat breakfast because your stomach isn’t up to the challenge in the morning, consider something small. Two morning snacks can substitute for a breakfast just fine; getting some good food on your stomach is the key. Start with some toast or a small piece of fruit and go from there. A fruit smoothie can sometimes do the trick when the thought of chewing isn’t appetizing at all.

If you aren’t eating because you simply don’t have time, take your breakfast to go! There are several healthy choices out now for breakfast bars. Be sure you look at the nutritional label and choose something with whole grains, lower sugar, and a relatively low number of calories and you should be good. Again, a quick fruit smoothie can easily be put in your cup and taken on the commute.

A good breakfast doesn’t have to be a feast. Simply giving your body something to break the fast is what’s needed. Your brain and your body will truly be thankful.
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Learn about the Important Link between Enzymes and Weight Loss

Thursday, September 03, 2009 by: Elizabeth Walling, citizen journalist

(NaturalNews) True weight loss can only come through an approach aimed at healing the whole body. The body stores fat when it lacks nourishment and is under stress, so it is vital to address these issues when seeking permanent, healthy weight loss. An important element of this approach is natural enzymes. When there is a lack of enzymes, the body cannot utilize the nutrients it needs. This triggers fat storage and stimulates the appetite, causing weight gain and food cravings.

Although enzymes are often associated with digestion, this is not their only function. Enzymes are complex proteins that facilitate hundreds of activities throughout the body. They are responsible for the use of vitamins and minerals, the regulation of hormones, and the health of the immune system. Enzymes also play an important role in detoxification, a vital component of weight loss. Even basic activities like breathing and talking rely on the presence of metabolic enzymes.

It's important to understand that most of society no longer functions in a way that's conducive to proper enzyme and digestive function. We eat mostly cooked food, many times processed under high heat. Heat destroys enzymes - dry heat at 150 degrees Fahrenheit and wet heat at 118 degrees Fahrenheit. We are also subject to extreme amounts of environmental and emotional stress, which further depletes our bodies of the nutrients we need.

Frequent digestive problems such as indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux and irritable bowl syndrome (IBS) are all signs that your digestive system is under too much stress. Enzymes can help relieve all of these issues, as well as problems with fatigue, insomnia, joint pain and much more. The longer you have spent consuming food void of enzymes, the more it will take for your body to recover from this depletion, but with time and dedication it is possible.

It helps to eat some kind of raw food with each meal to provide the body with natural enzymes needed for digestion. Foods that are particularly rich in live enzymes are pineapple, avocado, grapes, papaya, and soaked or sprouted nuts and seeds. The quality of your food directly influences the quality and quantity of enzymes you consume. Commercially-grown produce is a poor sources of enzymes. Maximize your enzyme intake with organic, locally-grown fresh foods.

While digestive enzyme supplements are far from magic weight loss pills, they are a very useful tool that will help you achieve total body health over a period of time. A high-quality general digestive supplement is beneficial to almost everyone. Additional supplementation with enzymes like lipase and protease (typically found in pancreatin combinations) may further encourage fat loss through the break down of fat stores. Lipase specifically helps break down and utilize fats, while protease is used to break down proteins and eliminate toxins.

As you incorporate raw foods rich in enzymes and quality enzyme supplements into your diet, it may take several weeks for your body to adjust. During this time it's not unusual to experience varying appetite and energy levels. This happens because your body is adjusting to finally being nourished with food and cleansed from the build up of toxins. It's important to be patient and let your body heal. This will pave the way for permanent, healthy weight loss.

For More Information:

http://www.healthynewage.com/339089...

http://www.sageera.com/articles/com...

http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com...

http://www.realmilk.com/enzyme.html
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Too much cholesterol puts life at risk

ANI22 August 2009, 02:32pm IST

Mildly High Cholesterol at Midlife Linked to Alzheimer’s

Diet 101: Lose weight by putting your partner on a diet

As 23 states get even fatter, heavy costs loom

WASHINGTON - Mississippi’s still king of cellulite, but an ominous tide is rolling toward the Medicare doctors in neighboring Alabama: Obese baby boomers.

It’s time for the nation’s annual obesity rankings and, outside of fairly lean Colorado, there’s little good news. In 31 states, more than one in four adults are obese, says a new report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

And obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year, and no state experienced a significant decline.

“The obesity epidemic clearly goes beyond being an individual problem,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust, a nonprofit public health group.

New wave of obesity
It’s a national crisis that “calls for a national strategy to combat obesity,” added Robert Wood Johnson vice president Dr. James Marks. “The crest of the wave of obesity is still to crash.”

While the nation has long been bracing for a surge in Medicare as the boomers start turning 65, the new report makes clear that fat, not just age, will fuel much of those bills. In every state, the rate of obesity is higher among 55- to 64-year-olds — the oldest boomers — than among today’s 65-and-beyond.

The report provides one of the first in-depth looks at obese boomers, and its implications are sobering. This first wave of aging boomers will mean a jump of obese Medicare patients that ranges from 5.2 percent in New York to a high of 16.3 percent in Alabama, the report concluded. In Alabama, nearly 39 percent of the oldest boomers are obese.

Health economists once made the harsh financial calculation that the obese would save money by dying sooner. But more recent research instead suggests that better treatments are keeping them alive nearly as long — but they’re much sicker for longer, requiring such costly interventions as knee replacements and diabetes care and dialysis. Medicare spends anywhere from $1,400 to $6,000 more annually on health care for an obese senior than for the non-obese, Levi said.

No magic bullet
“There isn’t a magic bullet. We don’t have a pill for it,” said Levi. “It’s not going to be solved in the doctor’s office but in the community, where we change norms.”

Click here to read the rest of this story.

Fat and Cholesterol: How Much is too Much?

By Kimberly Fisher, Community Contributor

Protect yourself from a stroke

May is National Stroke Awareness Month. Every year, approximately 700,000 people suffer strokes in the United States. Stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by a blocked or burst blood vessel. A stroke is sometimes called a "brain attack." If blood flow is stopped for longer than a few seconds, the brain cannot get blood and oxygen. Brain cells can die, causing permanent damage.

Anyone can have a stroke, but certain factors can place you at higher risk. Some factors, like family history, race, age, sex and prior stroke history cannot be changed. However, many risk factors are under your control, including:

• High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke. If you have high blood pressure, work with your physician to bring it into a normal range.

• Smoking can significantly increase your risk for stroke as well as lung disease, heart disease and a number of cancers. If you are a smoker, quit.

• High blood cholesterol can increase your risk. Having your cholesterol levels checked frequently can help you manage high cholesterol.

• Diabetes can increase your risk because it can cause destructive changes in the blood vessels throughout the body, including the brain.

• Heart disease sufferers have a higher risk of stroke than those with healthy hearts. Exercise and diet can help improve your heart's health.

• Obesity and physical inactivity can increase risk of many stroke risk factors as well as a variety of other health conditions. Get at least 30 minutes of activity on most days.

Nearly 80 percent of strokes can be prevented. Take time to educate yourself on stroke risk factors and work with your physician to assess your risk.

To take a stroke risk assessment, visit rushcopley.com/stroke.

Pradeep Bhatia, M.D., is a neurologist with NeuroAccess, Inc., and is on staff at Rush-Copley Medical Center.

Why You Should Avoid Fructose Sweetened Beverages

By: Henri Junttila, citizen journalist
See all articles by this author
Email this author

(NaturalNews) A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (April 20th, 2009) shows the difference in how the sugars fructose and glucose affect the body. Fructose showed more harmful effects such as increasing belly fat, higher cholesterol levels and increased insulin resistance. The study was conducted by Peter J. Havel, PhD, of the University of California in the United States.

The study included 32 overweight men and women with the average age of 50. The participants were divided into two groups, in an outpatient setting that was 8 weeks long or in a more strictly controlled inpatient setting that was 2 weeks long. During a period of 10 weeks the two groups drank glucose or fructose sweetened beverages totaling 25% of their calorie intake. Both groups put on more fat during the 10-week study, but the group that drank fructose sweetened beverages put on more fat on their bellies compared to the glucose group, which added mostly fat under the skin. "The study showed clear differences in how fructose and glucose are metabolized by the body," nutrition researcher and principal investigator Peter J. Havel, PhD, of the University of California at David told WebMD. The fructose group also showed increased cholesterol and bad cholesterol levels, and increased insulin resistance, while the glucose group showed none of these signs.

These findings however do not show that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is one of the sweeteners used in most soft drinks, cereals and other products, is more damaging for your health than any other added sugars or sweeteners. Peter J. Havel and his team are in the early stages of a study that will investigate the metabolic effects of fructose, glucose, table sugar, and HFCPS.

"Some people drink 2 liters or more of soda every day" says Matthias H. Tschop, M.D and associate professor at the University of Cincinnati Obesity Research Center. "If you do that for many years there is no doubt that it will impact your health, no matter what type of sugar is used" he says to WebMD. "We are eating too much of everything, not just sugar," says James Rippe, M.D, professor of biomedical sciences at University of Central Florida. "Over the last three decades, the average American has increased their calorie consumption by 24% and physical activity has declined. People are singling out sugar as the one smoking gun in the obesity epidemic when there are guns everywhere."

If you want to keep and improve your health then you should avoid all processed foods and soft drinks. Sweeteners are found in most soft drinks, fruit drinks, candied fruits, canned fruits, dairy desserts, flavored yogurts, baked goods and most cereals. The best you can do is check the label of anything you buy and read it carefully. If you really want to avoid all processed foods then there is nothing better than sticking to the foods that do not come in a package: mainly raw and organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/heart/metaboli...
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/37385
http://epsl.asu.edu/ceru/Articles/C...

"Silent" heart attacks more common than thought

By Julie Steenhuysen - Posted on April 21st, 2009

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A study using new imaging technology found "silent" heart attacks may be far more common, and more deadly, than suspected, U.S. researchers said Friday.

Some studies estimate that these often painless heart attacks, also known as unrecognized myocardial infarctions, affect 200,000 people in the United States each year.

But Dr. Han Kim of Duke University in North Carolina suspects the numbers may be far higher.

"No one has fully understood how often these heart attacks occur and what they mean, in terms of prognosis," Kim, whose study will appear next week in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine, said in a statement.

Doctors usually can tell whether a patient has had a recent heart attack by looking for signature changes on a test of the heart's electrical activity called an electrocardiogram and by checking for certain enzymes in the blood.

For a heart attack that might have occurred in the past, doctors look for changes on an electrocardiogram called a Q-wave, a marker for damaged tissue.

But not all silent heart attacks result in Q-waves.

"Those are the ones we haven't been able to count because we've never had a good way to document them," Kim said.

To spot these, Kim and colleagues used a new type of magnetic resonance imaging technology called delayed enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance, which is especially adept at finding damaged heart tissue.

They studied 185 patients with coronary artery disease but no record of heart attacks who were scheduled to have a test to look for possible blockages in their heart arteries.

They found that 35 percent of the patients had evidence of a prior heart attack. And they found that these so-called non-Q-wave heart attacks were three times more common than silent heart attacks with Q-waves.

They also found that after two years of follow up, people who had suffered a silent, non-Q-wave heart attack had an 11-fold higher risk of death from any cause and a 17-fold higher risk of death due to heart problems, when compared to patients who did not have any heart damage.

Kim said currently people who have had silent heart attacks are treated like other patients with heart disease.

But given the findings, he said new studies should look at the best way to care for these patients.

Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States, followed by cancer and stroke.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Eric Beech)

Statins Cause Heart Attacks in Some Users

Posted on Monday, April 06, 2009
Written by: Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor

(NaturalNews) Over 38 million people in the U.S. are currently taking statin drugs to lower high cholesterol levels. However, German scientists at the Martin Luther-University in Halle-Wittenberg have just published research in the Journal of Lipid Research that shows, for some people, taking statins actually increases the risk of having heart attacks.

The researchers studied over 1,000 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), and found that a subset of those had high levels of an enzyme called phospholipid transferprotein, or PLTP for short. PTLP is known to influence the metabolism of cholesterol-containing molecules like low density lipoprotein (LDL, or the "bad" cholesterol) and high density lipoprotein (the "good" cholesterol known as HDL) . While the exact role PLTP plays in cardiovascular health remains unknown, the enzyme is associated with atherosclerosis (the accumulation of plaque in arteries) and heart disease. So a team of scientists led by Axel Schlitt decided to measure the amount of PLTP in 1,085 patients with CAD and then track these PLTP levels to see what the relationship of the enzyme might be to future cardiovascular events.

A little over five years later, 156 of the study participants had suffered from fatal or non-fatal heart attacks, including 47 of the 395 people in the group who were taking statin drugs. Surprisingly, the researchers found that people with high PLTP levels didn't have more heart attacks, unless they were taking statins -- taking the drugs gave them a significant increase in their heart attack risk.

In a statement to the media, the researchers noted that while follow-up studies are needed to tease out the exact connection between PLTP and statins, their study does suggest levels of PLTP in the blood should be looked at before people are put on statin medications.

Although statin drugs have been shown to lower cholesterol levels dramatically, there are a host of natural and side-effect free ways to accomplish this, including increasing fiber in the diet, increasing exercise levels, and losing weight. On the other hand, popping a statin pill each day may seem like an easy short-cut to reducing cholesterol, but it can come with a significant price, and not only to the pocketbook. A host of side effects, from liver and kidney damage to memory problems and muscle damage have been reported.

In fact, approximately 200,000 Americans who take statins to treat high cholesterol may develop a life-threatening muscle disease called "statin myopathy", according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Currently there is no comprehensive way to identify those who may be at risk for this debilitating condition, but new NIH-funded research is currently underway by scientists at the University at Buffalo to hopefully find out.

For more information:
http://www.jlr.org/cgi/content/abst...
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/9664
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Weight Loss May Take 250 Minutes of Exercise

Adults need at least 250 minutes per week -- equal to 50 minutes of exercise five days a week -- to lose significant weight, according to the latest recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

“In the midst of a genuine crisis in Americans’ health related to what we eat and how little we move, these guidelines are meant to provide an understanding and clarification of the role of physical activity and its relationship to weight,” Joseph E. Donnelly, chairman of the writing committee, says in a written statement. “Now that we have the latest information on how much physical activity is part of the equation, we can continue the educational process to help people who struggle with their weight.”

If you are trying to maintain your weight rather than lose, you may still be OK with the 30-minute workouts. The ACSM recommends that adults participate in at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity to prevent significant weight gain. Overweight and obese adults, however, are more likely to reach their goals with at least 250 minutes. The report also recommends strength training as part of the exercise regimen, in order to increase fat-free mass and further reduce health risks.

The recommendations are published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. They are in line with the recent recommendations published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Weight management is an important public health issue, the report says. More than 66% of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. People can reduce their risk for chronic diseases with as little as a 2% to 3% reduction in excess body weight.

© 2009 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Two new studies indicate that the threshold of what doctors consider "normal" levels of bad cholesterol, or LDL, may be too high, leaving thousands of people vulnerable to heart attacks and strokes.

One of the studies, led by Gregg Fonarow of UCLA, examined 131,000 hospital admissions for heart disease and found that at least half of the patients had normal LDL levels. The other study, called JUPITER, involved 18,000 people. It showed that giving a cholesterol-lowering statin to older people with normal LDL cut their risk of heart attack and stroke in half.

Taken together, doctors say, the studies suggest that accepted notions of normal LDL are wrong — and that current treatment guidelines miss at least half of those who should be getting a statin.

Millions untreated

JUPITER suggests that millions more older people — as many as 11 million, Yale researcher Erica Spatz reported this month — should be getting statins. That would bring the total to about 45 million people, or 80% of all men older than 50 and all women older than 60.

But UCLA's Fonarow, whose study was published in the American Heart Journal, says there's another possibility. "There are two potential implications," he says. "Either the threshold of what was set as an ideal LDL was set outrageously high, thus allowing the vast majority of patients to be missed, or LDL isn't much of a risk factor.

"It's got to be one of the two."

Current guidelines recommend that doctors prescribe a statin for anyone whose LDL is 100 milligrams per deciliter of blood or higher. Doctors may treat patients with lower LDL at their discretion. But Fonarow notes that "half of all heart attacks are occurring below 100 (mg/dl)."

Sidney Smith of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, an authority on treatment guidelines and one of Fonarow's co-authors, says the study supports the wisdom of a push to drive LDL even lower, in many cases down to 70 mg/dl.

JUPITER offers a crucial clue to another potent risk factor, inflammation, that is gaining wider recognition. That's because the study was designed to find out whether statins can prevent heart attacks and strokes in people who have normal cholesterol but whose arteries show signs of being inflamed. The findings offer strong evidence that statins relieve inflammation.

If LDL is cardiovascular dynamite, inflammation is the fuse. Here's why: LDL carries cholesterol into the bloodstream, where it collects in artery walls. Inflammatory cells sometimes attack these deposits, causing them to burst. When that happens, blood clots and other debris float downstream into the arteries that nourish the heart. A blockage in a critical vessel may cut off the heart's blood supply.

"If we understand the biology of this disease, there are two fundamental components: cholesterol and inflammation," says Paul Ridker of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and JUPITER's lead author. "When we make that leap, so many other things become simple."

Making the leap has been anything but simple. Some critics have challenged Ridker's emphasis on inflammation and the validity of the test he helped to develop. Ridker has disclosed that he holds patents on the test, which measures C-reactive protein (CRP), a signal of artery inflammation.

The accepted view of heart risk stems from the Framingham study, a long-term government-funded evaluation of the residents of a Massachusetts community dating to 1948.

Constellation of risks

The Framingham study identified age, gender, smoking, blood pressure, diabetes, blood fats and family history as key risk factors that can be used to calculate a person's odds of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years.

"LDL is one of a constellation of risk factors," says Framingham's director Daniel Levy, adding that the new research is bringing into clearer focus the many factors that influence heart risk and how best to lower it. "This is a jigsaw puzzle," he says. "Even before the last piece is in place, we have a good idea of what we're looking at."

The question, he says, is deciding whom to treat. "In theory, ultra-aggressive treatment might reduce (heart attack and stroke) rates in the general population," Levy says, "but the reality is we can't target everyone for that kind of therapy."

Ridker asserts that testing for inflammation simplifies the picture. It appeared, in JUPITER, to trump such accepted traits as obesity as a predictor of heart-attack risk.

"If you were a thin person with high CRP or an obese person with high CRP, the risk was identical," he says. "Inflammation was the common driver."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-02-01-bad-cholesterol_N.htm
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More Americans obese than merely overweight

WASHINGTON - The number of obese American adults outweighs the number of those who are merely overweight, according to the latest statistics from the federal government.

Numbers posted by the National Center for Health Statistics show that more than 34 percent of Americans are obese, compared to 32.7 percent who are overweight. It said just under 6 percent are "extremely" obese.

"More than one-third of adults, or over 72 million people, were obese in 2005-2006, the NCHS said in its report.

The numbers are based on a survey of 4,356 adults over the age of 20 who take part in a regular government survey of health, said the NCHS, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The figures come from the 2005-2006 survey and are the most current available.

"During the physical examination, conducted in mobile examination centers, height and weight were measured as part of a more comprehensive set of body measurements," the NCHS report said.

"Although the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled since 1980, the prevalence of overweight has remained stable over the same time period," it said.

Obesity raises serious health risks
Obesity and overweight are calculated using a formula called body mass index. BMI is equal to weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Someone with a BMI of 25 to 29 is classified as overweight, 30 to 40 counts as obese and people with BMIs of 40 or more are morbidly obese.

In the 1988-1994 surveys, 33 percent of Americans were overweight, 22.9 percent were obese and 2.9 percent were morbidly obese. The numbers have edged up steadily since.

Being overweight or obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, arthritis and other conditions.

In May, the CDC reported that 32 percent of U.S. children fit the definition of being overweight, 16 percent were obese and 11 percent were extremely obese.

Childhood and adult obesity has emerged as a growing problem not only in the United States but also in many countries around the world.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28582253/
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Childhood obesity linked to asthma

MANHATTAN, Kan., Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A Kansas State University doctoral student in nutrition found a correlation between childhood obesity and asthma.

Sara Rosenkranz and colleagues found healthy children with higher levels of body fat and lower levels of physical activity had greater amounts of airway narrowing after exercise.

"Kids who are overweight and inactive are having a negative response to exercise challenge tests, which might be contributing to the increase that we've been seeing over the past several decades in asthma prevalence as well as obesity prevalence," Rosenkranz said in a statement.

The researchers recruited 40 children ages 8 to 10 to participate in exercise studies. All were healthy, none took medication or had diagnoses or history of acute or chronic disease, including asthma.

After the exercise, the researchers measured the children's airways and found that the higher the body fat and the lower the level of activity, the more likely they were to have asthma-like symptoms following exercise. Some children could be classified as having exercise-induced asthma. Exercise can even induce an asthma attack in people who do not experience asthma under other circumstances.

The findings were reported at the Central States chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine.